LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant’s admission that his right knee contains cartilage so damaged that “it’s almost bone-on-bone” was no surprise to the Lakers, who have known for several seasons that their veteran guard needs extra days to recover from the daily grind.

Bryant also isn’t the first veteran player who has skipped practices with the blessing of coach Phil Jackson over the years with the Lakers or the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s. Bryant, 32, and Derek Fisher, 36, routinely do not practice.

Jackson said the Lakers have monitored Bryant’s knee for some time, dating to well before last spring’s flare-up that resulted in fluid being drained from it during a first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In fact, Jackson recalled meeting with Bryant more than three years ago to discuss cutting back on his practice time in order to avoid wearing him out during the 82-game regular-season slog.

Jackson recalled: “I said, `The issue about getting older is containing your leg strength and your ability to play due to it. You’re going to have issues. Some practices are going to have to be monitored and you and I are going to have to reach a point of agreement on this. I’m going to give you the liberty of picking and choosing when you want to practice and how you want to practice, so that we can do this the right way.”‘

The subject was raised before the Lakers faced the New Orleans Hornets on Friday because of a column in the NewYork Post in which Bryant revealed the extent of his knee troubles. He had declined to talk specifics when asked by local reporters.

“He manages it very well,” Jackson said. “That’s important. He has the ability to do that. It’s been an issue since last year.”